As We Continue on Our Professional Paths

As I prepare to move into my specialization I would like to thank all of my colleagues who have been on this journey with me. I have been able to share and learn with everyone in many different ways. It has been very helpful to be able to share with people who share the same visions and have experienced some of the same things that I have as we educate and prepare children to be successful in school and their lives. I would like to wish everyone much success in whatever specialization that you choose. I also look forward to those who will continue this journey with me as we specialize in administration, management and leadership. We are almost there!!!  

Andrea

Adjourning From a Group

The group that was the hardest to adjourn from would have to be the group of women that I worked with while I was working as a Licensing Inspector with Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. We had a great leader Lalah Ash and the women in my unit were and still are a great group of women. I loved working with them and they helped to make the job a lot easier. We all had each other’s backs and when someone was out sick or on extended leave we would all spit up the cases and work them as if they were our own without complaints. I could always go to my supervisor for support and assistance and knew that she would be able to help find a solution that would be in the best interest of the children in care. My unit celebrated my marriage with me and the birth of my first child. They also gave me a going away party when I left to begin my teaching career.

It was also hard for me to leave or depart from my Women’s Track and Field team that I trained and competed with for four years of my life. Track and Field was a part of my everyday life from the time I was 12 to 22 years old. I truly miss competing and the friendships and bonds that were created.  

I have enjoyed the discussions and insight that I have gained from my colleagues.  I feel that although we have not been able to bond with one another face to face we have been able to build relationships. I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues and continue to share and learn from them.

I believe that adjourning is an essential state of teamwork because all relationships that end must have closure. You will either agree to keep in contact or go your separate ways if the relationship was not high performing or cohesive. 

Managing Conflict

A professional conflict that I experienced last school year involved myself and my department chair (DC). My DC was the previous nursery/child care director and decided that she no longer wanted to be in charge of the nursery in order to alleviate some of her workload. When I became the nursery director I arranged the director’s office in a manner that would make it more functional for me as well as provide a safe exit for the preschool children to use in case of emergency. (My office is in between two classrooms that connect). One day I walked into my office and saw a table was back in the office. I removed the table and placed it back. When the DC arrived she came into my office to make copies and then asked me about the table outside. I informed her that someone had placed the table in the office and I removed it because I did not need it. She then told me she placed the table in the office so she could have a place to work when her classroom was occupied in the morning. I informed her that I did not want the table in the office as it made the office cluttered and would make the exit route unsafe. The DC then began to verbally personally attack me and my decision to not have the table in the office. As a result of being verbally attacked I became defensive resulting in an argument.

Looking back on this event and after learning about managing conflict, nonviolent communication and the 3 R’s I would have handled the situation in the following manner instead:

1.       Focus on the issue (O’Hair & Wiemann, 2012) – I should have made it clear that the reason for the office being rearranged and for me not wanting the table was to ensure the safety of the children. Not to keep her out of her old office or to “shut her out.”

2.       Considered Options and Alternatives (O’Hair & Wiemann, 2012) -  I should have suggested that she could go work in the Teachers Longue on their computers and tables when she needed a place to work.

This school year I plan to not use the Escapist Strategy and make sure that I am communicating and not avoiding having conversations that need to be had. I will make sure that I am considering the other persons feelings and focuing on the issues and not who is “right or wrong.”

O'- Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.

Communication Evaluations

This week’s assignment required me to evaluate myself and my communication anxiety, listening and verbal aggressiveness. I also chose my mother and co-worker to also evaluate me in the same areas. I was surprised that based upon my Communication Anxiety assessment that I fall into the Mild category and not the Low. I feel that I am very comfortable and confident when I have to speak in front of others and am only nervous or anxious if I am not familiar with the subject matter or what is to be communicated. My mother and co-worker both ranked me in the Low category so I feel that I am able to mask any anxiety or fear when I am in front of others even though I may not feel the same way on the inside.

Insight that I have gained from these evaluations is that I have the characteristics to be moderately verbally aggressive and will be able to use this in my professional and personal life. I do respect the viewpoints of others and try to rely on the facts and not the person. I do not believe in personally attacking anyone in order to prove a point or make myself look good. I am also aware that the way in which I view myself and the way that I project myself when I am around my family, friends and co-workers will determine their view of me and the ways in which we communicate. 

Communication with People from Different Groups and Cultures

Question: Do you find yourself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures?  Explain.

I do find myself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures because the world calls for the adjustment of our communication methods in order to function in society. The Andrea that goes to work each day to work with children and families is different from the Andrea who is at home and who is at church. Different forums call for different methods of communication. I am not going to speak to my Pastor the same way that I speak to my friends. This is the same for my parents and friends. When I speak to people of a different culture the main thing on my mind is making sure that I do not offend them or make myself look disrespectful or ignorant.

Based on the information that I have learned in my previous course and the past three weeks the strategies that I will use to communicate are:

1.       Put my viewpoints aside in order to view things from the perspective of the person I am communicating with.

2.       Don’t be so quick to judge and make assumptions.

3.       Education myself on other cultures beyond the surface and learn deep cultural facts and information.

4.       Don’t be afraid to ask questions when I am unclear of what is being communicated in order to prevent misunderstanding. 

Interpreting Communication in Television

The show that I chose to view was Return to Amish on TLC. This is a reality show that follows a group of Ex-Amish young adults who left their Amish community and are now retuning to be closer to their Amish family and loved ones.

When I watched the show with the sound off I observed the relationships between the cast to be civil between a husband and wife, brother and sister, mother and son and friends.  Based upon the nonverbal communication the husband and wife were going though something and the wife was trying to make up by giving him a handmade shirt. The brother was taking his sister out to a party that made her feel uncomfortable.  Two friends were out at a restaurant eating and talking to one another and a mother was having a serious conversation with her some about something important. One of the girls from the restaurant is emotional about something that happened at the restaurant.

When I watched the show with the sound on I was correct in my assumption about the husband and the wife. I assumed that Jeremiah and Katie were brother and sister but he is not related to her. He took her to a party and then showed her how to talk to boys without her parent’s knowledge. Katie had never been to party and was uncomfortable about what was going on around her. Rebecca and Chapel were meeting at the restaurant to talk about Rebecca’s previous relationship with Andy who is now with Chapel. Chapel was trying to get information about Andy’s previous relationships with other girls. Mom and was speaking to her son Andy about her concerns about him being with Chapel and her being a bad influence on him. The mom was worried that Andy would go back to jail. The show ended with Chapel giving a confessional about her being called to come into the doctor’s office and her not knowing what it is about.

I believe all of my assumptions would have been correct if I would have been familiar with the character and already knew their back stories as I was watching the show. After completing this exercise the first thing that I have learned is that I am very blessed to have the gift of hearing. I have an aunt who is deaf and I used to watch TV with her as a child and wonder how she knew what was going on and when to laugh when she could not hear what was going on. Looking at a show in which I am not familiar and do not know what is going on what a little frustrating for me as I thought I knew what was going on but had interpreted some of the episode and relationships between the cast incorrectly.

Competent Communication

The person that has demonstrated competent communication in my life has been my mother. She has always spoken to me and others in a way that did not degrade or intimidate. When my mother was upset or wanted to make sure my brother and I were listening to her she would not raise her voice but begin to whisper because she said that whispering would force us to listen to her words. That technique worked with us all of the time and it is something that I use with my own children and in my classroom as well. My mother was also always honest with my brother and me providing reasoning and explanation instead of just dismissing us and telling us what to or not to do. I appreciated that as it would allow me to understand the consequences of my actions and make my own decisions. I believe decision making is a very important skill that has helped me throughout my childhood and into adulthood and it one of the reasons I am successful today. 

Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope that I have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that I can use what I have learned these last eight weeks to make a difference in my classroom and in the lives of every child I come in contact with including my own children. I have learned that we must respect others and individuality. I will work to collaborate with families and make sure that I am respecting their culture and ideals while being conscious of microaggressions and –isms.

One goal that I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice would be that all professionals would embrace the anti-bias education approach and work to advocate for all children and their families.

I would like to thank my colleagues for opening themselves up and sharing their stories of sadness as well as your triumphs. I also appreciate your feedback and words of encouragement and support. I wish you all the best and look forward to collaborating and working with you in the future. 

Welcoming Families From Around the World

Country: Finland

Scenario: I am working in a child care center and receive word that the child of a family who has recently emigrated from Finland will be joining my class. I have no prior knowledge about Finland but want to prepare myself to welcome the child and her family.  The five ways in which I would prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards this family are:

1    1..    Know the primary language of Finland. I would try to learn a few basic phrases or words in Finnish.
2.       Finland’s ideas about education
3.       The role of children in Finland
4.       Gender Roles in Finland – how men and women are seen or valued
5.       Primary religious beliefs of the people of Finland.

I believe that taking these preparations will allow me to be prepared to welcome the child into the classroom. It would help to ease any uncertainty or apprehension that I may have about adding a new child to the learning environment and will also equip me with the tools I need to help make their transition smooth.  Knowing beforehand how the child’s previous county viewed education, the roles of children and gender roles will help me to know how to approach certain conversations or topics with the family as I work with them.  I do not want to offend them or make them feel as if they are not welcomed or understood. 

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

The memory that I will share involving bias, prejudice and/or oppression will be a story that I was told by mother.  My mother was working as a consultant providing home training services to parents who needed additional strategies to help their children at home and school. My mother made contact with a woman regarding her son over the phone. My mother informed her of who she was and what she would be coming to the home to do. When my mother arrived at the home she introduced herself as Dr. Johnson and asked to come into the home. The mother looked at my mother as if she was surprised to see her and that my mother was not the person she was expecting to see. While my mother was at the home providing information to the mother the father arrived home. The mother and father then began having a conversation in the other room and then the mother came out and said they would not be needed the home services. The next day the mother called back to the office and requested services again asking would the person coming out be white or black. A white person was sent out to the home and the mother accepted the home services. 

I believe this incident diminishes equity as I feel the mother and father were saying that a black person was not capable of providing services to the family because they were black. My mother has worked very hard to obtain her doctorate and was more qualified to provide the services but was denied the opportunity to help the child and their family just because of the color of her skin.

The feelings that this incident brings up for me are anger and frustration. I am upset that my mother was treated in this manner but I am also upset that a parent would turn down services that could benefit their child because of the race of the person trying to assist them.

The people that would need to change in this incident would be the mother and father as well as the company that my mother was working for at the time. Once the company found out that the parents were requesting a different consultant of a specific race they should have informed that parents that they would not be sending another person if race was the only reason to request another person in their home. I feel the parents were being told that it is okay to discriminate by the company when their request was granted. 

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

The memory of microaggression that I will share towards myself comes in the form of a microinsult. Growing up and as an adult I have been told several times that I do not “sound black” when I am speak. I take offense to this. Being told that I do not “sound black” implies that black people only hold conversations full of grammatical errors and use slang and vulgarities. I make sure that I let everyone who implies or makes this silly statement towards me that I take offense and that they are insulting me and stereotyping me.

The information that I have obtained this week on microaggression, discrimination, prejudice and stereotypes will help me as I move forward in my career and as I raise my children because I am now more aware and will watch what I say. I recently attended a meeting where another director was telling a story about how her 5 year old daughter was telling her she did not have anyone to play with on the playground at school because she “didn't speak Dora.” The director laughed about it and then ended the story with “but she is not prejudice or anything.”  When people feel they need to tell me that they are "not prejudice" I usually think that they are. Children must be taught at an early age that there are people around them who speak languages other than English and that the language that the children were speaking was Spanish and not Dora. We cannot take these teachable moments for granted and laugh them off we must use these moments to help prevent these children from eventually growing up to use microaggressions and offending people in the future.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

I completed this assignment while visiting friends for the weekend so I posed these questions to them along with my husband. The cultural differences included gender and age. They collectively came up with the definitions for culture and diversity. Culture was defined as a person knowing where they have come from, their roots, traditions and being able to pass that onto the next generation. Diversity was defined as being exposed to and being able to adjust to your environment including how your react when you are around people who of a different tradition or culture than your own.

Based upon the answers that I received I believe the answers did reflect some of what we have studied in this course. I think that the answers that were given were generalized statements that I believe the majority of people would provide if posed the same question. Unless you have been involved with taking a course on cultural diversity most people do not think deeper or past the obvious. I am guilty of the same but am glad that I have enrolled in this course and am looking forward to the next few weeks and the things that I will learn. As a result of this exercise I think that there should be more discussion or training on this topic beginning at the high school or middle school level in order to raise awareness and possibly prevent some of the events related to lack of cultural awareness that we are hearing of in the news these days. 

My Family Culture

If I had to relocate to a new country due to the scenario in this week’s assignment I would take a photo album/scrapbook, bible and cookbook. The scrapbook would allow me to have photos and memories of my family and friends. The bible will allow me continue to study and practice my religion. My cookbook would allow me to continue to cook and pass down traditional foods to my children and others that I come in contact with in my new country.  

If I found out upon arrival that I had to leave two of the items behind I would leave the cookbook and bible because I can rely on my prior knowledge to get me through cooking and God is always with me and I can practice my religion without having to have the bible on hand.

Insight that I have gained this week is that I hadn't thought about what I would truly do or take if I had to leave my home country and live somewhere new due to a catastrophe. I have seen it many times on the news and have close friends who had to relocate as a result of Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana but I don’t think it really sank in as to what they went though until I put myself in that place this week. I will never take not having to do this (sudden relocation) for granted again. 

When I Think of Research.........

The most important insight or skill that I have learned from this course is how to read research. The breakdown that we received at the beginning of this course helped me to see what parts I need to read and what parts I can skim or skip over. I think this benefited me a lot as I would sometimes get so confused when looking at research that I would just say forget it and just use another source for information in the previous courses. I have also learned how to identify valid resources and vocabulary words such as quantitative, qualitative, mixed method, triangulation and validity as it relates to research.

I have to admit I was not very excited when I saw the name of this course as our next course but I am glad that I made it through. I would have to say that research is not my passion but know that I could get through it if I had to.

The lessons that I have learned about planning, designed, and conducting research in early childhood are that you must first make sure the benefits of the research outweigh the risks and the ethics involved in the research process.

Some of challenges that I have encountered during this course was knowing whether I was on the right track during my simulation. This was something that was new to me and I was confused a lot of the time.

I would like to wish all of my colleagues luck as we continue on this journey together. We are almost there!

Research Around the World

The website that I chose to explore this week was  from the European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA) found at http://www.eecera.org/.  Some of the topics found in the journal included play, motor-skills, social-emotional interaction and technology and outdoor activity.

An article topic that caught my attention was entitled “How often do you play with your child? The influence of parents’ cultural capital on the frequency of familial activities from age three to six."This article caught my attention because I have children who are between the ages of three and six. As a working parent who is also attending school I find that it is often hard for me to find time or the energy to play with my children and keep up with all the things that I have to do throughout the day. According to the abstract:

The article analyses the role of parents' cultural capital as a mediating factor between families' social and ethnic background and the frequency of stimulating familial activities in early childhood. Using the data from the German longitudinal study ‘Preschool Education and Educational Careers among Migrant Children’, it is shown that parents' cultural capital completely mediates the effect of mother's education and part of the ethnic origin effect. Additional longitudinal analyses reveal that the influence of parents' cultural capital changes over time and is most pronounced at the earliest measurement.

I was not able to read the full article as I had to have had a subscription but I feel that it is important to find time to play with my children and am looking forward to the break between the semester and the warmer weather so that I am able to go out and play with them and share times and cultural capital with my children.

European Early Childhood  Research Journal, 2014

Vol.22, No.1, 4-13, http:/ /doi/full/10.1080/1350293X.2013.865355

Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

I do not know anyone who has personally participated in a research study but I do know people who I believe have personally benefited from the research process. My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1996. She is currently in remission but I believe if it had not been for scientific research and the people who participated in the medical studies prior to my mother’s diagnoses she may not be here with us now. I believe the research process is critical to the preservation of life and for the betterment of our society but only when it is done is a safe and ethical manner.

I also located an interesting article that relates to my simulation topic of social/emotional development and its influence on a child’s future. In this study 1000 children were followed for 30 years in order to see how their ability or development of self-control as a child affected their health, wealth, and criminal offending. This study suggests that parents should focus on strategies that will encourage their children to develop self control as early as toddlerhood. Children will benefit from the development of self control and may be less likely to suffer from ill health, substance abuse, poor finances or perform criminal acts in the future. The study can be found at: http://www.pnas.org/content/108/7/2693.full.pdf+html

                                                                                                                                      

Reference

"A gradient of childhood self-control predicts health, wealth, and public safety," Moffitt et al., 2011, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, Volume 108, p. 2693 - 2698.

Personal Research Journey

The simulation topic that I have chosen is school readiness. I would like to know what factors contribute to a child being ready for their elementary school journey. How does a child’s parental involvement impact their readiness, does a child’s social/emotional developmental state play a factor and also how does play contribute to a child’s school readiness.

I currently work with preschool children and have a child who will enter preschool next year and one who is in Kindergarten this year so the topic of school readiness is a personal one for me. I would like to be able to provide the parents that I work with researched based information and I would also like to make sure that I am doing everything possible to ensure that my children are ready for school.

I look forward to learning and sharing with my colleagues as I continue on this journey so please feel free to provide me with any insight or resources that you feel are relevant to my topic and I will do the same. 

Consequences of Learning about the International Early Childhood Field

1.       Outlook – I was able to make contact with Eric Atmore in South America who provided me with information on the challenges facing early childhood development in South Africa. I only received one correspondence and then did not receive any further responses despite my efforts. Never the less I have a new outlook of how early education differs from the United States.

2.       Guilt – The information that I have obtained from my correspondence and viewing of the international websites makes me feel guilty that I cannot get out there right now and do something to help. If I had the funds to travel there and study abroad or make a financial contribution I would. I also have new found appreciation for the efforts that have been made in the United States.

3.       Motivation -  I am now motivated to continue in this programs as I have learned a lot in this short period of time that I have been enrolled in the program and my eyes have been opened to a lot of things that I would not be able to see if I were not in this program.

My goal is to one day travel overseas in order to experience early childhood education first hand whether it is as an observer or as an educator. 

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 3

I did not receive a return email from my contact in South Africa but did find some information on the UNESCO website. There was an article about the push to accelerate early childhood care education in Africa. The countries of Angola, São Tomé & Principe, Swaziland and Zambia are working to boost early childhood care in their countries. The counties will be participating in training modules that will provide tools, skills and resources to people working with vulnerable children and their families. One of the fundamentals of IECCE model is that local and indigenous children are to be educated within their cultural context (UNESCO, 2013).

According to the UNESCO website:

Early Childhood Care and Education is having a hard time in Africa. Only a little more than one out of four African child aged between 0-8 get a chance to attend some kind of pre-school activities. But the situation differs enormously between countries and region. According to 2010 data the situation is as follows:

• In Southern Africa (SADC), early childhood enrolment stood at 45% on average
• In East Africa (EAC), only Kenya and Tanzania achieved above 30% level while the average went up to 27%.
• In Central Africa (ECCAS), despite the fact that pre-primary enrolment has more than doubled, the average has only reached 26%.
• In West Africa (ECOWAS) (with the exception of Cabo Verde and Ghana), progress has been more timid and rates (19 percent on average) and well below the average of 28% in sub-Saharan Africa (UNESCO, 2013).

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/dakar/about-this-office/single-view/news/big_push_workshop_to_accelerate_early_childhood_care_and_education_in_africa/#.Uwl1hvldUQY

The UNESCO website also featured articles regarding the Sub-Saharan Africa children being behind and not being able to reach the goals set for them by the Education for All goals. Key findings of the 2013/14 EFA Global Monitoring report:

• The pre-primary education gross enrolment ratio increased from 10% in 1999 to 18% in 2011, leaving the region lagging behind all others regions.
• Sub-Saharan Africa is far from achieving universal primary education (net enrolment ratio of 77%). No progress has been made since 2007, leaving nearly 30 million African children out of school.
• By 2011, the net enrolment ratio at lower secondary school reached 49%, but the number of adolescents out of school in the region remained at 22 million between 1999 and 2011, due to population growth.
• The number of illiterate African adults has increased by 37% since 1990, mainly due to population growth, reaching 182 million in 2011. By 2015, it is projected that 26% of all illiterate adults will live in sub-Saharan Africa, up from 15% in 1990.
• In sub-Saharan Africa, with teacher recruitment lagging behind growth in enrolment, pupil/teacher ratios stagnated and are now the highest in the world at the pre-primary and primary levels (UNESCO, 2013).

According to the report, a global learning crisis is costing $129 billion a year. Ten per cent of global spending on primary education is lost on poor quality education that is failing to ensure that children learn. This situation leaves one in four people in poor countries unable to read (UNESCO, 2014). The need for good teachers was expressed as this would help with children get the quality education that they need that would in turn help boost the economy in the future.

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/dakar/about-this-office/single-view/news/education_for_all_goals_are_unlikely_to_be_reached_by_2015_in_africa/#.Uwl4I_ldUQY

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/dakar/about-this-office/single-view/news/severe_learning_crisis_in_sub_saharan_africa/#.Uwl5iPldUQY

Sharing Web Resources - National Black Child Development Institute(NBCDI)

This week I explored the links to:

Child Health Talk (CHT) (http://www.nbcdi.org/sites/default/files/resource-files/CHT%20Fall%202013d.pdf) Child Health Talk provides information, advice and resources to parents and providers about children’s health and well-being. CHT features articles, recipes, and activities that cover a range of topics, including literacy, safety, development, nutrition and physical activity (NBCDI, 2013). What I found interesting in the newsletter issue was the sections that provided a collection of developmental appropriate books for young learners that emphasized diversity and were relevant to the culture of children of color. These books were being provided to programs that have 70% or more children who come from low income families as a part of the First Book and NBCDI collaboration.

NBCDI also had a link(http://depts.washington.edu/pthru3/framework.html) to a framework for Planning, Implementing, and Evaluating PreK-3rd Grade Approaches by Kristie Kauerz (University of Washington) and Julia Coffman (Center for Evaluation Innovation). The framework is intended to be used a tool to support the development of comprehensive PreK-3rd grade approaches. The Framework helps to address key questions facing those who are developing PreK-3rd grade approaches in their school, district, or community including:

• What does a comprehensive PreK-3rd grade approach include?
• The word “alignment” is used often, but what needs to be aligned?
• What kinds of changes need to take hold in adults’ behaviors before we can expect to see improvements in child outcomes?
• What kinds of responsibilities need to be shared among 0-5 programs, grades K-3, families, and communities?(Kauerz and Coffman, 2013)

I signed up to receive the newsletter from the NBCDI but I have yet to receive an issue. I attempted to sign up again.

I feel the NBCDI website does contain information that adds to my understanding of equity and excellence in early care and education. Although this organization and their website provides information on improving and advancing the quality of life for Black children and families I believe that the information that they are sharing can be applied to help improve the quality for all children especially those of low SES.

New insight that I have gained this week was the information that I obtained from the Child Health Talk newsletter. The information on the variety of books available that promote cultural diversity and black history that are available for children from early childhood through grade school. I plan to purchase some of these books for my home and preschool library.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 2

 My contact has not responded to my e-mail attempts so I have reviewed the Harvard University’s Global Children’s Initiative. Insights that I have gained after exploring the sight are:

1.     The Global Children’s Initiative uses science to enhance child well-being through innovations in policy and practice.

·         Its focus includes:

·         reframing the discourse around child health and development in the global policy arena by educating high-level decision-makers about the underlying science of learning, behavior, and health, beginning in the earliest years of life;

·         supporting innovative, multi-disciplinary research and demonstration projects to expand global understanding of how healthy development happens, how it can be derailed, and how to get it back on track; and

·         building leadership capacity in child development research and policy—focused on both individuals and institutions—in low- and middle-income countries to increase the number and influence of diverse voices and perspectives that are contributing to the growing global movement on behalf of young children (Center on the Developing Child, 2014).

2.     As part of its Global Children’s Initiative, the Center is launching Núcleo Ciência Pela Infância, its first major programmatic effort outside the United States. In collaboration with local experts, the project aims to use the science of child health and development to guide stronger policies and larger investments to benefit young children and their families in Brazil (The President and Fellows of Harvard College, 2014).

3.     Guided by these strategic objectives, the Global Children’s Initiative has begun to build a portfolio of activities in three domains: early childhood development; mental health; and children in crisis and conflict situations. Each of these domains is being guided by a faculty working group that will facilitate continuing cross-disciplinary collaboration; design and implement new projects; and engage additional faculty, students, and collaborators beyond the Harvard community (Global Children’s Initiative, 2014).

Global children's initiative. (2014). Retrieved from http://developingchild.harvard.edu/activities/global_initiative/

Sharing Web Resources

       The Strong Start for America’s Children Act (#investinkids) has been introduced by Senator Tom Harkin and Representatives George Miller and Richard Hanna. This bill is relevant to my current professional development and adds to my understanding of how economists, neuroscientists, or politicians support the early childhood field?

This bill is an important bipartisan step as we collectively work to ensure that our early childhood systems provide accessible, affordable, high quality and comprehensive services for our most vulnerable children and families – and NBCDI thanks these Members of Congress for their leadership (NBCDI, 2013).

New insight that I have gained from exploring the website is that the current president Dr. Felicia DeHaney that I mentioned in my January 18th post is stepping down as the present of the organization. The reason for her decision was not mentioned in the announcement.

My International Contact - Part I

I have been corresponding with Associate Professor Eric Atmore. Professor Atmore is an Associate Professor at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. He is also associated with the Centre for Early Childhood Development (http://www.cecd.org.za/).

After reviewing the research report Challenges facing the early childhood development sector in South Africa provided by Professor Atmore I have learned that children living in poverty in South Africa are extremely vulnerable and often discriminated against and isolated (Atmore, 2012). In South Africa the majority of children do not have access to an early education program as many parents and/or families cannot afford to pay for school fees (Atmore, 2012). Many children in South Africa also live apart from their families in child-headed households due to labor migration or alternative care arrangements such as them living with extended family members.

According to the report:

Due to the extraordinarily high prevalence of poverty in South Africa, hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity are significant challenges facing children in communities across the country. Nutrition is not only a basic physical need that requires primary attention, but research has shown that the absence of adequate nutrition can greatly affect a child’s early development (physical development, brain development, cognitive and learning abilities) which can lead to significant, negative adult outcomes such as reduced earning potential in adulthood. These negative consequences affect children’s ability to achieve their full potential, stunting not only the individual’s child ability to flourish in adulthood, but collectively limiting the country’s potential development.(Atmore, 2012)

After reviewing this report I have received insight on poverty outside of the United States and the issue of poverty as it relates to children in South America. There are some similarities between the issue of poverty in South America and the United States but in my opinion the issue is more severe in South America.

Atmore, E. (2012). Challenges facing the early childhood development sector in south africa. Retrieved from http://www.nda.org.za/docs/Challenges-facing-ECD-Sector-in-SA-Prof-Atmore.pdf

Sharing Web Resources

The name of the organization that I chose to explore is the National Black Child Development Institute http://www.nbcdi.org/ . From its inception, NBCDI’s focus has been on achieving positive outcomes for vulnerable children who suffer from the dual legacies of poverty and racial discrimination.  The organization was launched by the Black Women’s Community Development Foundation, whose leadership, in the wake of the Civil Rights Movement, was deeply concerned about the unsatisfactory conditions faced by families determined to raise healthy Black children.  By organizing NBCDI as a national advocacy group, they created a unified movement to develop strategies to improve the life circumstances of the Black child through policy change (NBCDI, 2013).

The NEWS section of the website featured a spotlight and interview of NBCDI President and CEO Felicia DeHaney. In her report Being Black is Not a Risk Factor: A Strengths-Based Look at the State of the Black Child.”  Dr. DeHaney explained the importance of reframing the "risks" of being Black and instead celebrating the unique strengths and values of our children (Clark, 2013). Dr. DeHaney provides positive statistics regarding black children and their families that are usually not shared or the focus of reports on black children and their families.  Like the fact that black children are actually more likely to be enrolled in preschool than white children.  And that more black children have mothers with bachelor's degrees than mothers with less than a high school education.  And that 79 percent of young black children are read to by a family member regularly (Clark, 2013). I found this report interesting because it shares information that I have grown up knowing but rarely hear discussed in the media or on the news. As a mother of black children I do not want a teacher to see my child’s name on their classroom list or see the color of their skin and instantly assume that they are going to be a behavioral problem, less intelligent and are probably being raised by a single mother who has little to no education. Unfortunately I fear they may experience this more common than not due to the negative portrayal of black children and families in this country.

http://www.marketplace.org/topics/wealth-poverty/reframing-%E2%80%9Crisks%E2%80%9D-being-black

http://www.nbcdi.org/sites/default/files/resource-files/Being%20Black%20Is%20Not%20a%20Risk%20Factor_0.pdf

Establishing Professional Contact and Expanding Resources

The steps that I took in order to establish contact with the early childhood professionals that I will be communicating with during this course were to look on the NAEYC website provided as a part of our Resources this week and emailed as many of the professionals that I could. I received multiple responses and plan to try to maintain contact with everyone who as replied back to me.

The website and newsletter that I plan to explore further and establish as a resource will be the National Black Child Development Institute. I chose this organization because I feel I will be able to relate with the issues and information provided.